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Re: [gNewSense-users] some ideas (about opening files)


From: gnewsense
Subject: Re: [gNewSense-users] some ideas (about opening files)
Date: Mon, 6 Nov 2006 12:22:16 +0100
User-agent: Mutt/1.5.9i

On Mon, Nov 06, 2006 at 09:12:32AM +0000, MJ Ray wrote:
> I read with interest sensible reasons not to list non-free software. I 
> think that is a situation that free software can never win, because two 
> software packages are almost never identical.  

Winning is not an objective. If a site serves a gnash animation and it
plays, that's good. If it doesn't play, it's irrelevant.

If it's not irrelevant and a user must have a particular proprietary 
application, there is nothing to keep him from installing it manually,
but it will be an informed decision.

A hypothetical person unfamiliar with using computers stumbling into problems
with gnash in gNS will learn about flash and the problems associated with it
automatically if the non functioning of the animation is important enough for 
him to do a web search on the subject.

> That does not always mean 
> that one is better than the other - they may just do things in different 
> ways and it may frustrate users who knew the legacy proprietary package 
> when they have to relearn.
 
Arguments about the pandering of non-free software use the reason 
"But what about the users ? Why won't anybody think of the users ?" far too 
often.

Learning can be frustrating at times, but if someone is not willing to make 
that effort
there may be other distributions better suited for that person.

I hope gNS will steer clear of having consumers instead of users, and 
conversely,
that users who care little for the concept of Free Software will steer clear of 
gNS.

I'd like to stress that I'm not advocating "The Free-way or the high-way" in 
general. There
are many distributions out there. So should a user pick gNS it should not be by 
accident 
or because of its popularity.

What would be ideal is when noone would feel the need to set up a third party
repository that would distribute non-free applications for gNS because there is
simply no demand for it. 
And those that would have no other recourse but using a particular non-free 
application would install it manually and still stick with gNS without feeling
the need to write an "Opera in just a few clicks" howto.

        Friendly,
        Andreas




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